In the manufacture of a laminated stator core used in an electric motor, thin stator laminations are punched in high speed presses. After punching, the laminations undergo a heat treating process called annealing, which gives the laminations proper electromechanical properties for an efficient high quality motor. To begin the annealing process laminations are heated to 900.degree. F. to burn off contaminants such as lubricating oil. Then the laminations are transferred to a multistage annealing oven where they are gradually brought up to a temperature of 1500.degree. F. and cooled back down to 500.degree. F. Subsequently, trays of laminations are transferred to a cooling chamber where they are brought down to handling temperature.
The annealing process removes carbon from the steel. An unavoidable consequence of this process is the fusing of the laminations due to molecular bonding at the contacting surfaces of the laminations. To be useable, the laminations must be separated, which is currently done by a manual process referred to as cracking. The worker picks up a bulk stack of annealed laminations weighing as much as 26 pounds and raises it approximately 2 feet above a metal table and slams it down. For optimum results, this must be repeated at least twice for each bulk stack. Even with a substantial expenditure of energy, the laminations are not always cleanly separated. Additionally, this cracking process can result in bent laminations which must be scrapped.